Widespread relief and cheer greeted News Corp.'s decision yesterday to cancel O.J. Simpson's If I Did It
and the Fox TV special that would have featured Judith Regan
interviewing Simpson. E-mails we received yesterday after the
announcement included the following comments:
- "Hip hip hooray."
- "What a hopeful sign and a testament to the power of, not only freedom of speech, but of the power of the marketplace to respond to the speeches offered."
- "The cancellation is delicious."
Reportedly some books have been shipped, but are supposed to be
returned and pulped. This means, of course, that it's likely a few
copies will slip the net. Simpson's tome isn't listed on eBay yet, but
Amazon's boilerplate following the announcement of the book's
cancellation reads: "If you would like to purchase this title, we
recommend that you occasionally check this page to see if it has become
available."
See today's New York Times for the basic information about the cancellation and the important role of the Fox affiliates in New Corp.'s decision.
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Congratulations to Turnrow Book Co., the new Greenwood, Miss., bookstore (Shelf Awareness,
September 28, 2006), which on Wednesday, November 29, will host a signing by John
Grisham for his new title, The Innocent Man. The first 200 people who buy the book will receive tickets to the signing with
appointment times. After the signing, Grisham will read from
the book and answer questions, a free event.
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Larry Portzline, founder of bookstore tourism,
has a video about the concept, featuring clips of visits by "tourists"
to bookstores in New York City and Los Angeles. Check it out on his blog.
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Several managers of Watson-Guptill's 80,000-sq.-ft. distribution
facility in Lakewood, N.J., which will be vacated by the publisher
early next year when Holtzbrinck assumes its distribution, have
created a distribution company called Innovative Logistics, Judith
Rosen reported in PW.
The company, which is taking over the Watson-Guptill facility, will
focus on small- and medium-sized companies and use commission rep
groups to sell. Its first client is Prestel Publishing, a former
Watson-Guptill client.
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Via MSNBC, San Francisco Business Times
outlines the happy recovery of Books Inc., the 155-year-old bookstore
that in the late '90s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Books Inc. has grown to 11 stores from four in 2000, and opened a store
at Opera Plaza in San Francisco in September in a site once occupied by
A Clean Well Lighted Place for Books.
Among the reasons for the turnaround, the paper and president Michael Tucker indicated:
- Books Inc. opens mainly where chains can't, in smaller neighborhoods.
- The stores have "attractive interiors . . . common to all stores . . . but the inventory varies wildly."
- Each store has great autonomy, "allowing managers the power to offer products and programs that reflect the diversity of their customers."
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Ann Simpson, longtime owner of 2nd Look Books in
Spokane, Wash., died September 19. She was 69 and had a long battle
with cancer. Still, she continued traveling and river rafting up to
just a few weeks before her death.
Simpson's store, founded in 1982 and one of the largest used bookstore
in Washington, was an early adopter of new technology and had a Web site for years. Simpson's family continues to operate 2nd Look Books but is looking for a new owner.